State Rep. Norine Hammond sponsored legislation this past spring to improve access to Proton Beam therapy for cancer patients. House Bill 2799 requires that health insurance policies provide coverage for medically necessary Proton Beam therapy for the treatment of cancer. The bill further provides that the policy shall not apply a higher standard of clinical evidence for the coverage of Proton Beam therapy than for any other form of radiation therapy treatment.
House Bill 2799 was signed into law by the Governor and will take effect January 1, 2024. Rep. Hammond recently visited Northwestern Medicine’s Proton Center in Warrenville and she shared how meaningful and educational the experience was. See the report and video by WICS and KHQA here.